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Periodontal disease more frequent in Marijuana users

8 June 2016

Research has found that those who smoke Cannabis are more likely to suffer from oral diseases

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) has recently said that around 22.2 million Americans have recorded using the drug. In 2015 it was reported that nearly 35% of teens has used Marikuana in the past year with 21.3% being current users.

Madeline H and Meier, Ph.D from Arizona state university analysed this data from 1,037 adults who were part of the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study of New Zealand.

They were followed up from birth until 38, undergoing regular health and lifestyle assessments during follow-up. Compared with applicants who had never used the drug, the researchers found constant marijuana use for up to 20 years was connected with greater risk of periodontal disease at the age of 38.

It is also noted in the study that previous research has shown that marijuana users are less likely to brush their teeth and floss; they are also more prone to having alcohol dependence, all factors that can lead to periodontal disease.

Madeline H and Meier said, on regards to these findings, that “"In general, our findings showed that cannabis use over 20 years was unrelated to health problems in early midlife

Across several domains of health (periodontal health, lung function, systemic inflammation, and metabolic health), clear evidence of an adverse association with cannabis use was apparent for only one domain, namely, periodontal health."